Heart Matters retry
by deanangst
Summary: comment fic for xi xue gui who requested Leverage, Eliot Team, Eliot gets myocarditis


**xi_xue_gui** on June 25th, 2010 08:09 pm (UTC)

Leverage, Eliot + Team, Eliot gets myocarditis

Heart Matters

Disclaimer: I own nothing just showing my love for the show. No harem intended.

Medical disclaimers: I know nothing, I just like medical sounding BS. There isn't much of it here but what is most likely is wrong.

It all started with minor aches and pains. Eliot brushed it off as side effects of his latest job. After all the retrieval of a 'rumored' golden statue in South America never went off without a hitch. When several days had passed and he was feeling decidedly worse Eliot started to admit that maybe he was sick. Not that he would mention it or allow the tiredness and few aches and pains to stand in his way of protecting the team. Instead he picked up a bottle of over the counter medicine, the green death as his father called it, and indulged in a full 8 hours sleep.

Eliot was still feeling like crap the next evening but he stood firm at his post outside the single story office.

"I got it!" Parker chirped over the coms.

"Great Parker, now make your way back to the van." Nate responded, looking over and giving a smile to Sophie and Alec as they watched Parker's tracker move along the display on Hardison's computer. Everything seemed to be going smoothly one second, then the alarms sounded.

"Hardison! I thought you disabled the security system." Eliot Growled, standing straighter and waiting on Nate's direction.

"I did man, how was I gonna know they had a backup system to their backup system. " Alec replied as he typed furiously on the laptop ending the annoying high pitched ring.

Parker froze in the hallway a mere 20 feet from the exit and the safety of the team. Two armed guards were now blocking her exit and retreat. Accessing the situation Parker did the only thing she could. "Eliot!" she yelled and waited for the Calvary to arrive.

The exit door slammed open taking a section of the door frame with it as it came free, opening with enough force that the door handle became lodged in the drywall.

"Parker, Down!" Eliot yelled grabbing the closest guard by his jacket and yanking the man backward, spinning him slightly before slamming him into the wall effectively knocking the man out. As the body dropped to the floor Eliot grabbed the guards gun, releasing the clip and ejection the bullet in the chamber. He kept the second guard in his eye sight the entire time, but the second guard was green and when confronted with someone of Eliot's skill he panicked. The guard came out swinging seeming to forget that he had a gun in his hand. Eliot stood, slight smirk firmly in place and waited for the guard to come to him. All in all the fight took less than 90 seconds.

"Eliot held out a hand and pulled Parker to her feet. "Come on, backup will be here soon." He grit out surprised by his own breathlessness and the slight sweat that he'd broken out in.

The two ran from the building and headed to the safety of the van in the parking lot across the street. They could hear the engine running and watched as Nate slid open the side door and waved them forward encouraging them to run faster. The van was rolling before the door was even closed.

"Parker, are you okay?" Nate asked watching as Parker tossed her pack onto Sophie's lap.

"This was too easy." The blond thief complained. "I didn't even get to use my gear." Crossing her arms over her chest she cut her eyes at Nate.

"Next time I promise I'll find a nice tall building for you to play in Parker." Nate replied, then turned his attention to Eliot. "Eliot you…." The words died on Nate's lips as he took in the man before him.

Eliot was bent forward on the bench seat. His left hand pressing against his chest, he was sweating and it was clear that he was having a hard time catching his breath.

"Eliot!" Nate placed his own hand on Eliot's chest searching… expecting to find that a bullet wound.

Eliot managed to look up catching Nate's eyes. H..heart." he gasped out.

"Hardison! Hospital now!" Nate barked. "Sophie, find the first aid kit, see if there are any aspirins, and get me some water."

"Shouldn't you make him lay down?" Hardison questioned. Taking a quick glance in the rearview mirror before focusing back on the road.

"In this cramped space I think moving him will do more harm than good, he just needs to be still."

"Hey Eliot, I know this is scary but we are getting you help." Nate spoke in a low tone, trying to fight down his own panic. He could hear the rattling of plastic as Sophie bug thru the first aid kit, it took a moment to realize that she was also on the phone to the hospital alerting them to the situation.

Parker thrust a open water bottle into Nate's field of vision, when Nate took the bottle she slipped him the two aspirins. "Okay Eliot this is going to taste bad but I need you to not swallow these okay, you have to chew them up. Eliot did you hear me…you have to chew them first then swallow."

Eliot nodded slightly and Nate held his hand up to Eliot's mouth dropping the pills inside. The face Eliot made as he started chewing the bitter medicine assured Nate that he was doing as told. Once Eliot Swallowed Nate allowed him a small sip of water to help wash more of the medicine down. Moving up onto the seat next to the Hitter Nate shifted closer, one hand rubbing soothing circle on his back encouraging the younger man to relax as much as possible.

It took nearly 10 minutes from the time they left the office building to reach the Hospital. The door of the van was being pulled open before Alec had it in park. Parker scrambled into the passenger seat allowing the waiting Doctor and nurse to climb inside. Everything seemed move in slow motion as Nate watched them take Eliot's vitals. Nate answered the doctors questions as thoroughly as possible thankful that he'd taken the time to memorize each of the teams medical history when he insisted they sign over medical proxy's before ever taking that first case as Leverage Consulting. The enormity of the situation didn't set in until they had moved Eliot to a waiting gurney and Nate was left standing in the waiting room with the rest of the team.

Leverage Leverage Leverage

Nate stared down at the clipboard in his lap. Checking and double checking the information he was providing for the 10th time. Knowing Eliot's history and seeing it in black and white were proving to be two different things. Sliding the ink pen back into place Nate began to tap the plastic insurance card against clip board, stopping only when Sophie reached out and placed her hand over his.

"Sorry..sorry." Nate muttered shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "It's just been hours, they should have told us something."

Patting his hand again Sophie spoke. "Maybe Tom should go ask about his brother." She urged, clearly as desperate for information as he was.

"Yeah, I can do that. Standing Nate turned toward the Nurses station just in time to see the Doctor that was treating Eliot push thru the double doors, heading their way.

"How bad is it?" Nate asked before the doctor could speak.

"We've run an ECG and blood test's. They have him in imaging right now. There is defiantly something going on with his heart but I don't think he's suffered an actual attack, but I'm running tests to rule it out. His White count and enzyme levels are high, his body is fighting some kind of infection. Mr. Baker does our brother travel outside of the country?"

"Yes, he's a camera operator. He's been filming a documentary." Nate nodded as he spoke.

"Recently?"

"He just got back from South America about a week and a half ago."

"Was he in a remote area?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Certain insect bites transmit the protozoan parasite,and cause infections that induce myocarditis, we could be dealing with Chagas' disease. Is that his information?" the doctor indicated the clipboard.

"Everything I can remember." Nate handed over the papers and Mark Baker's insurance card.

"Okay I'm going to go have your brother tested for Chaga's, As soon as he's back from imaging I'll have someone come get you."

"Doctor, If it is Chaga's…" Sophie started to ask only to falter.

"If we caught it early enough then he could make a full recovery, The CDC will have the medicine we need." The doctor gave them a reassuring smile and moved back to the treatment area.

Leverage Leverage Leverage

Nate sat in the hard plastic chair next to Eliot's bed. Alternating his attention between Eliot and the IV pump that was regulating the delivery of the medication into the IV line. Eliot still wore the wireless heart monitor, the information being transmitted from a receiver in the room to a location down the hall. Nate had only been able to convince Hardison and the others to head home, for some rest, after the hacker had piggybacked the signal and routed it to his computers back at Nate's apartment. It was strange thinking that Alec could know something was wrong before he did even though he was inches away from Eliot.

Picking up the damp washcloth off the bed table Nate wiped the sweat from Eliot's face, smiling as Eliot leaned his head toward the cool comfort it provided. Slowly exhausted blue eyes fluttered open and Eliot fought to focus on the man standing over him. He knew instinctively that it was Nate even though he couldn't make out the man's features.

"Mmm' Not dead?" Eliot slurred rolling his head to the side looking for the other members of the team.

"No, you are too stubborn for that. I sent the others home, thought you'd rest better without the hovering that's coming."

"How bad?"

"It's not as bad as it could have been. You didn't have a heart attack but your are suffering from an infection. Looks like you picked up more than just a statue on your latest vacation."

"Is that all, a round of antibiotics and I'm good to go?" Eliot relief only lasted a moment.

"This is still serious Eliot, you're looking at a good four months of Nifurtimox three times a day. Limited activities for the next four to six months, maybe even a year. "

"Nate man, I'll be ready to go in a few we…."

"Eliot! Don't even think about completing that sentence. You are on restricted duty until the doctor and I say otherwise. " Nate felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, pulling the out he clipped it open and spare only a few words to the caller. "False Alarm" was all he said before ending the call.

"I ain't a kid Nate, you can't tell me what to do."

"That's right Eliot, you're not a kid but you are a part of this team, this family. We all agreed back when this started that I'm the leader of this little group, the head of this household." Nate fought to keep his voice down and his anger under control.

Eliot broke eye contact with Nate, looking instead at the white ceiling tiles. "Maybe I can find someone that you can use. I mean you might not be able to trust them completely but if you paid them enough you can find a good replacement, If you still want me I'll come back after."

Nate reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, the kid just didn't get it. "You are right. You will be back in the field when the doctor clears you, but until then be prepared to have every aspect of your life invaded. It took everything I had to talk the others into going home to get some rest. Hardison is monitoring you from the apartment." Nate waved the phone indicating that it had been Alec that he'd been speaking with. "Sophie is already planning around the clock schedules, Parker is all for Alec's idea of a central location for all of us to live. Face it Eliot you don't replace family, you are stuck with us thru the good and the bad."

Eliot closed his eyes, a silent signal that he accepted what said as the truth. "Every aspect of my life huh?"

"Yep" Nate confirmed as he settled back onto his chair.

"You know this ain't gonna be pretty right." Eliot's words more of a mumble but Nate could still make them out.

"Get some sleep Eliot, you're gonna need it."

The End


End file.
